Book I. 



EXOTIC FRUITS. 



765 



liong green Turkey ; sometimes sown for 

 the Fate crop. Late cucumbers, how- 

 ever, are much less cultivated than the 

 early varieties ; most gardeners being of 

 opinion, that those kinds which are 

 best for the early crops are also best for 

 the late. 



Napal ; fruit very large, usually weighs 

 upwards of twelve pounds* weight, 

 measures in girth twenty-four inches. 



and in length seventeen inches ; flavor 



■ient to the Horticultural Society from 

 Calcutta by Dr. Wallick. (Hurt. Trans. 

 iv. 136.) 



Flanagan's. Near two feet long and of 

 superior crispness and flavor. {Hort. 

 Trails, iv. 560.) 



Fluted cucumber. A Chinese variety. 

 {Hort. Trans, v. 56.) 



Smooth green Roman ; an early sort ; the 

 , fruit becomes large and long, and is 

 quite smooth ; the plants grow very 

 strong, and require a good deal of 

 room. 



White Turkey ; the stalks and leaves are 

 larger than in the other varieties; the 

 fruit also is very long, sometimes from 

 ten to fifteen or even twenty inches ; it 

 is quite straight, and has a smooth skin 

 destitute of prickles ; it is produced 

 sparingly, and late in the season. 



4876. Culture. The culture of the cucumber, as a table esculent, is chiefly carried on by artificial heat 

 or protection, and is therefore treated of under ihe Forcing Department, Chap. VII. Sect. VII. For pickling, 

 it is chiefly cultivated in the open ground, by what is termed drilling, and which forms the only branch of 

 the culture of this vegetable reserved for this article. To have a crop in the natural ground, the seed is 

 sown in warm compartments of rich earth, towards the end of May, or beginning of June, when the 

 weather is settled, warm, and dry. The plants should mostly remain where sown, to produce late fruit, 

 towards the end of July, or more generally in August and September, small for picklers, and in larger 

 growth for ordinary consumption. Sow a portion in a warm border, and the main crop in an open com- 

 partment. Dig the ground neatly even. Trace lines with intervals of five or six feet ; and in the lines 

 mark stations three and a half feet distant ; then, with a trowel at each of these spots, form shallow cir- 

 cular saucer-form cavities in the surface, ten or twelve inches wide, and about an inch deep in the middle. 

 Sow in the middle of each cavity eight or ten seeds, half an inch deep. When the plants are come up, 

 and begin to put forth the first rough leaves in the centre, thin them to three or four of the strongest in 

 each hole. Earth these up a little, between and close round the stems, pressing them a little asunder; 

 and give them some water, to settle the earth below and above. In their advancing growth, train out the 

 leading runners. Supply them with requisite waterings, in dry weather, two or three times a week, or 

 sometimes every day in very dry hot weather, in July, August, or September. At this season, water 

 early in a morning, or late in the afternoon, towards evening. 



4877. Gathering. " The crop comes in sometimes towards the end of July, but more generally not 

 before August in full production ; continuing till about the middle or end of September, when the plants 

 decline. Be careful to gather the fruit in a prime state, both for pickling and other purposes. They must 

 be quite young for pickling, not exceeding two or three inches in length." {Abercronibie.) 



Sect. II, Exotic Fruits, well known, but neglected as stick. 



4878. Among neglected exotic fruits we include the orange tribe, one of the most beau- 

 tiful, and also, a very useful class of fruits. The culture of oranges and lemons for the 

 table is not at present common in England ; but, in our opinion, it might be pursued 

 with much enjoyment to the amateur, since, independently of the gratification of seeing 

 fruit of one's own growth at the dessert, no object of the fruit-tree kind can be more 

 splendid than a large healthy orange-tree covered with fruit. The pomegranate seems 

 also to merit culture, both for its singular beauty while on the tree, and the addition it 

 would make to the dessert. 



SuBSECT. 1. Orange Tribe. — Citrus, L. Poli/ndel. Polyan. L. and Aurantice, J. 



4879. Of the genus citrus there are five species or leading sorts, of which the fruit are 

 used ; all natives of Asia, viz, the common orange, the lemon, the citron, the lime, and 

 the shaddock. , The common character of the plants bearing these fruits is that of low 

 evergreen trees, with ovate or oval-lanceolate, entire or serrated, leaves. On the un- 

 grafted trees are often axillary spines. The flowers appear in peduncles, axillary or 

 terminating, and one or many flowered.- The fruits are large berries, round or oblong, 

 and generally of a yellow color. The species seem best distinguished by the petiole, 

 which, in the orange and shaddock, is winged ; in the citron, lemon, and lime, naked. The 

 form of the fruit, although not quite constant, may also serve for a distinction. In the orange 

 and shaddock, it is spherical, or rather an oblate spheroid, with a red or orange-colored rind ; 

 in the lime, spherical, with a pale rind ; in the lemon, oblong, rough, with a nipple-like pro- 

 tuberance at the end ; in the citron, oblong, with a very thick rind. The flowers of the citron 

 and lemon have ten stamens, and those of the orange more. Professor Martyn observes, 

 that it is very difficult to determine what is a variety, and what is a species in this genus. 

 The trees in the eastern countries, where they are natives, vary in the size and shape of 

 the fruit and leaves ; and many of those considered varieties in Europe, preserve their 

 differences in their native woods. He has no doubt that any one who would pursue this 

 subject in the native countries of these fruits, would detect varieties connecting all those 

 generally considered as species. This opinion appears highly probable when we ex- 

 amine the catalogues of the continental writers on this fruit ; who, in general, finding it 

 diflficult to make botanical distinctions, are obliged to rest satisfied with popular descrip- 

 tions. In Nouveau Cours, &c. art. Granger, those cultivated in France, and in Dr. 

 Sickler's work, and that of Gallesio, those of Italy, are so described. 



4880. Dr. Sickler, who spent several years in Italy, and paid great attention to the 



Cedrates orl , ^ 



Citrons j 



TRound-shaped lemons 6 ditto. 



Pear-shaped ditto 11' ditto. 



Lemons.... ^Cylindrical ditto 4 ditto. 



(iourd-shaped ditto 12 ditto. 



LWax lemons 5 ditto. 



Cedrate lemons or cidronates 6 ditto. 



Lumies orfLumies 5 ditto. 



Lomes I, Apple lumies 3 ditto. 



kinds and culture of the orange, published 

 in 1815, Der Vollkommen Orangerie- Gart- 

 ner (The Complete Orange- Gardener), in 

 which he describes above seventy sorts of 

 citrus, including all the species above men- 

 tioned. He arranges the whole in two 

 classes, and these classes into divisions 

 and subdivisions, without regard to their 

 botanic distinctions or species, thus : — 



LLimes 4 ditto. 



_ r Bitter oranges 6 ditto. 



Oranges... J Sour oranges 6 ditto. 



(.Sweet oranges , 12 ditto. 



